Film depicts relationship between Clinton, Little Italy business owner

Troy businessman Rocco DeFazio stands in front of his place of business with a copy of the new book, “Hard Choices,” written by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Marcela Garces photo

TROY >> Rocco DeFazio is known as a local business owner who has done what he can to help the neighborhood in which he grew up. His story, in fact, is so interesting that a potential 2016 presidential candidate latched on to it.

Residents will have a chance Thursday to see a film by Marcela Garces and her husband Yuri Morejon that shows the relationship between DeFazio and Hillary Rodham Clinton.If you have been inside DeFazio’s Pizza at 266 Fourth St., you’ve probably seen the picture of DeFazio and Clinton hanging on the wall. Garces said her 17-minute documentary, titled “Hillary’s Pizza Maker: The Human Side of a Leader,” shows there is more to the photo than the handshake the two shared.

“I learned it was a much deeper relationship, a closer relationship.”

Following her announcement that she would seek a second term as U.S. Senator from New York, Clinton reached out to DeFazio after reading in a local newspaper about his efforts to revitalize the Little Italy neighborhood.

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Having grown up in Little Italy and owning a business there, the younger DeFazio said he wanted to make the area a better place in which to live.

The idea was to get people discussing collective memory and what made the neighborhood great in the first place. DeFazio said some of those initiatives included more communication between residents and City Hall, as well as the police department. It even led to the first statewide Little Italy conference held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“It was about using fond memories of the past that binds people together to work toward a common cause,” DeFazio said. “I think (Clinton) saw that.”

The documentary spans from when his parents immigrated to Troy in the 1930s from Italy to work he had done in the city. It also looks at the relationship that developed between DeFazio and Clinton while he worked to better the neighborhood, which also fostered a relationship between Clinton and his parents.

“The idea was to have Rocco telling his story, and through it, you really get this human side of Hillary Clinton,” Garces said.

Many of the photos in the film come from DeFazio’s Pizzeria, where Garces said they spent a day interviewing him about his story and his friendship with Clinton.

DeFazio spoke fondly of Clinton, describing her love of people and food and her sense of humor.

The relationship between Clinton and his family had grown so strong, DeFazio said, that she called him before boarding an international flight as secretary of state to offer her condolences following the death of his mother, Josephine.

Now, on the heels of the release of Clinton’s book, “Hard Choices,” The Arts Center of the Capital Region at 265 River St. will host showings of the film at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. with DeFazio and Garces answering questions after each showing.

Asked whether Clinton should run for president in 2016, DeFazio didn’t even have to think twice.

“I think she’s the best prepared individual to be president of the United States,” he said. “If there’s a better person, they would be hard to find.”

If you are unable to attend the showings, visit www.thehumansideofaleader.com to watch the documentary.